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A.M. #70: New York Rangers

Posted Mar 21, 2014
by Shawn Mitchell
| 0 comments

Save for the season finale against the Nashville Predators, the Blue Jackets spent the most exciting days of their long-awaited playoff chase last season on the road, far to the West of Nationwide Arena.

The Jackets played six of their final seven games on the road, all against Western Conference opponents. For most fans, the final push of a lockout-shortened season was a late-night TV show.

Tonight, though, the Blue Jackets will play their closest competitor in Metropolitan Division race in front of the home folk in Nationwide.

Rick Nash and the New York Rangers are in town. They are in playoff position with 78 points. So are the Jackets, who have only 13 games remaining (and a game in hand on the Rangers).

If you’re lucky (or wealthy) enough to be rinkside, go ahead and press your nose to the glass. It should be quite a show.

“I think it will be a playoff-type game,” Rangers forward Derek Dorsett said. “Everyone is fighting for points. We’ve been playing pretty well and so have they. It should be great.”

Unfortunately for Dorsett, he’ll be watching from the press box, as he has done most night since returning from a broken leg last month. The former Jackets agitator is expected to be a healthy scratch.

New dad Benoit Pouliot arrived in Columbus late last night after the birth of his daughter and is expected to play. Had he not made it to town, Dorsett would have went in, Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said.

The Rangers, coming off an 8-4 thrashing of Ottawa on Tuesday, have been biding their time in Columbus since Tuesday night. They held an optional skate this morning. They’ll be well-rested.

The Jackets are coming off a thrilling 3-2 win and a trip back from Montreal last night. They did not hold a morning skate. Coach Todd Richards loves morning skates, but he gave his team the morning to rest and recover.

Richards will speak with the media later this afternoon and likely address his lineup, which last night did not include veteran R.J. Umberger (18 goals). It was the first healthy scratch in the career of Umberger, who once played a club-record 291 consecutive games for the Blue Jackets.

Bobrovsky's counterpart will be Henrik Lundqvist, who on Tuesday won his 302nd game as Rangers, passing Mike Richter for the team’s all-time lead.

Bobrovsky, the NHL’s first star last week, is 7-2-1 with a 2.14 goals-against average and .927 save percentage in his past 10 starts. Lundqvist is 4-2 (2.01/.937) in his past six games. It should be a dandy duel.

Nash is guaranteed to be the center of attention for at least a few minutes, so long as the Jackets honor his return with a first-period video tribute as is expected.

Nash acknowledged yesterday it will be an emotional moment. He will share it with a building full of fans that he is happy to see enjoying a playoff push.

“They went through a lot,” Nash said of their shared time in Columbus. “It was a tough go. To see (the Jackets) doing well, I’m happy for the fans and for the ownership. They really love this city and it’s good to see them succeed.”

Brassard said Nash has been calm and collected since the Rangers arrived in town on Tuesday. But he expects different things from his old friend and captain when the puck drops.

“He was here for nine years,” Brassard said. “It was a big part of his life. I’m expecting him to have fun tonight and be the best player on the ice.”

It’s been a mixed bag for Nash against the Jackets this season. He missed the first meeting (a 4-2 Rangers win on Nov. 7 in Columbus) because of a concussion. He had no points and a minus-2 rating in 22:51 of ice time in a 4-2 Jackets win on Jan. 12 in Madison Square Garden. He scored a pair of power-play goals on Jan. 6, a game the Jackets won 4-3 in a shootout in New York.

Containing Nash will be a point emphasis for the Jackets, as will fixing a faltering power play.

The Jackets were 0 of 8 on the power play last night in Montreal and are 0 of their past 27, dating to March 4 vs. Dallas. They haven’t scored a power-play in seven straight games.

The Rangers have killed 22 of 23 penalties and have scored four short-handed goals in their past eight games.

Side dishes

--Brassard, now skating on a line with Martin St. Louis, had no points in eight consecutive games before scoring twice and adding an assist in the 8-4 win at Ottawa on Tuesday. “I felt like our team just exploded,” Brassard said. “Everything was going in. To score eight – not three or four but eight – that’s good for the confidence.”

--The Blue Jackets won their 17th road game of the season last night, tying the club record (17-16-8 in 2010-11). The Jackets are 17-15-3 on the road this season and 19-12-3 at home. The Jackets are 10-3-1 in their past 14 at home.

--Tonight’s tilt in Nationwide is the only game of note in the Eastern Conference race. The Jackets (78 points/69 games) sit in third place in the Metro and hold the division’s final automatic playoff spot. The Rangers (78/70) are in fourth in the Metro and hold the second and final wild-card spot, two points behind Toronto (80/71) and three points behind Philadelphia (81/69, second in the Metro). Trailing that pack is Detroit (77/69), Washington (77/71) and New Jersey (73/70).

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